M (Judi Dench) | James Bond Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Film biography GoldenEye (1995) Tanner: "Seems your hunch was right, 007. It's too bad the Evil Queen of Numbers wouldn't let you play it... (Bond clears his throat at Tanner to tell him that she is right behind him)" M: "You were saying?" Tanner: "No, no, I was just..." M: "Good, because if I want sarcasm, Mr. Tanner, I'll talk to my children, thank you very much." ―M scowls Tanner for calling her "The Evil Queen of Numbers". M briefs Bond in GoldenEye. She makes her debut in GoldenEye, after Tanner , her Chief of Staff, refered her as "the evil queen of numbers", given her reputation at that stage for relying on statistics and analysis rather than impulse and initiative.

Bond, who returned from his evaluation and attempt to stop a prototype helicopter to be stolen, he warns him that M, who had just came in, was behind them which she soon responds to Tanner's "Evil Queen of Numbers" jab by telling him that when she wants to hear sarcasm she'll listen to her own children. After the first GoldenEye satellite was set off and the three MIGs that were sent to intercept an emergency call, this got M and Bond to talk in her office. She offers him a drink and rejects her predecessor's cognac and gives him bourbon and ice. During the briefing, M knows Bond doesn't trust her and that she thinks Bond is a "sexist, misogynist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War." After the briefing, M wishes him good luck and to come back alive. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) In the pre-credits scene, M is observing Bond's mission via TV on the Russian border in regards to him stopping a terrorist arms bazaar. He is to keep tabs on US techno-terrorist Henry Gupta . M sends Bond on a mission to Hamburg in order to "pump information" from his old squeeze, Paris Carver , now married to Elliot Carver .

His other objective is to use Paris's information in order to infiltrate CEO Elliot Carver's CMGN (Carver Media Group Network) newspaper HQ in Hamburg. He is to retake the GPS encoder Henry Gupta bought previously in the Russian border. The World is Not Enough (1999) She sends Bond to recover some money for an old friend and when he came back successfully, she introduces the friend as Sir Robert King (she states that they studied law together at Oxford) and as King went to get his money, she and Bond drink to Bond's successful mission, which is soon cut short when Bond discovers the ice in his drink had dissolved into foam and a weird substance was on his hands, he soon runs out of the office and has Moneypenny to try and stop King, but it was too late and an explosion goes off in the evidence room, killing King and damaging a part of MI6. Bond tried to arrest the assassin but the woman commits suicide by blowing the hot-air balloon she commandeered and Bond soon fractured his left shoulder. After the funeral and comforting a tearful Elektra King , she puts Bond on the inactive roster due to his injury and MI6 relocates to Scotland. After Bond seduces Dr.

Molly Warmflash into giving him a clean bill of health, she briefs Bond about Renard , who previously kidnapped Elektra, was still alive after an attempt on his life by 009 who was sent to try and rescue Elektra, but she already escaped after killing two of her captors. Renard was shot in the head but survived, the bullet lodged in his brain made him feel no pain, taste or smell. Elektra called M and informed her that Bond left her alone and killed her head of security, she has M sent to her location. Later, M talked with Bond about Elekta but warns her that she might have Stockholm syndrome. After Bond and Christmas Jones were thought to have been killed in Elektra's pipeline, she gives M a present, her father's pin. She soon has her men kill M's men that were present and before she took her, M managed to slap Elektra but was soon taken for revenge. (She convinced King's father to not pay her ransom.) While held captive in Maiden's Tower , Istanbul, she was visited by Renard who put a clock outside her cell and just out of reach, so she would know exactly when she would die.

She soon feels something in her pocket and finds the locator card that Bond gave her when the plutonium was stolen. Knowing that she could use the clock's battery to give power to the card as a way of signalling for help, he tries to get the clock closer to her but accidentally makes it fall. Later, she fooled Elektra into placing the clock to the bars of her cell, giving M the chance to braodcast her location to Bond. Bond and Jones were caught but Bond escaped thanks to Valentin Zukovsky 's intervening before his death. Bond managed to grab King's M1911 and chases after her and M yells to Bond, who manages to stop in time to shoot the lock off her cell, while chasing after Elektra. After Bond coldly killed Elektra, she sees him stroke the dead girl's hair before he runs out to stop Renard from using Zukovsky's nephew's submarine.

Later, near the end of the film, she observes R trying to find Bond and Jones after they stopped Renard, managed to find them in a room, making out, causing R to press the "Esc" button, cutting the feed, saying it was a "premature form of the Millennium Bug." Die Another Day (2002) When Bond (bearded and long haired) was rescued from Korea after 14 months of torture, she thinks Bond spitted out secrets out to them. She also informs him that Zao , who was exchanged for Bond, killed three Chinese agents and before she left, she fires Bond and has him to be sent to an evaluation center to see if he was still useful, but later that night, Bond escaped. After Bond pursued Zao to Cuba and attacked a genetic clinic, the NSA director (who was also present when Bond was freed) thinks she had Bond escape. Later on, after Bond won a fencing match with Gustav Graves , she had a letter sent to the fencing club, revealing a key to an old train station where she rehires Bond.

In the recently promoted Q's training simulation, she is simulated to have been held hostage and Bond and Robinson try to rescue her but Robinson is (falsely) killed and Bond killed two of the terrorists that were also in the room. In an attempt to kill the last terrorist, who is holding M, Bond shoots the terrorist's hand, giving M a flesh wound and giving Bond the chance to kill him. She also briefs Miranda Frost , who is working undercover as Graves' publicist for work experience that she will see Bond in Iceland. Later, after Bond killed Zao and rescued NSA Agent Jinx , who was also in Iceland to kill Zao, M and the NSA agent Damian Falco briefly talk, now aware that Frost was a double agent and that Graves is actually Colonel Moon. M and Falco send Bond and Jinx to kill Graves. After Graves' plane is destroyed M sighs in relief while the Falco lights a cigarette. Casino Royale (2006) Following actor Pierce Brosnan 's departure from the role of 007 and the rebooting of the franchise with the 2006 film Casino Royale , Dench continued to perform the character of M for a further three films.

In this new continuity, M implies that she has worked for MI6 for some time, at one point muttering, "Christ, I miss the Cold War". [3] When she heard Bond had broke into an embassy and killed Mollaka she furiosly told Bond (who broke into her apartment to use her laptop) they wanted to question him, not to kill him. When she asked Bond how he knew where she lived, she threatened to kill him should he utter her name. Claiming it was too early to promote him to '00' status, Bond reassured her that 00s have short lives. After calming down a little, she tells Bond that she needs him out of her sight and to take a vacation. As Bond walked to the elevator, she tells him not to break in again. M was seen sleeping with an unknown man, probably her husband, when her assistant Villiers rudely called her in the middle of the night. Claiming he was going to share Bond's holiday plans, he reassures her that Bond was looking at Alex Dimitrios using her username and password.

When Bond called from Miami International Airport she wondered why he was there but Villiers soon realised that Mollaka's replacement was going to destroy the Skyfleet prototype. After Bond stopped him and a misunderstanding with Miami police, M went over to the Bahamas to talk with Bond, who was observing the dead body of Solange Dimitrios and told him that Dimitrios worked as a middleman. She also informed him that Le Chiffre had lost over $100 million for Bond's intervening and he has now placed a poker game at Casino Royale in an attempt to recover it. Placing Bond in the game to replace Bliss, she presumably hired Vesper Lynd to keep an eye on Bond. Later on, after Bond managed to win after an attempted poisoning, M was received a resignation note from Bond and called him, asking if he was going to deposit the winnings. After Vesper committed suicide, she informed 007 that she had a French Algerian boyfriend named Yusef Kabira . Quantum (not known until next film) blackmailed her when he was kidnapped, threatening to kill him if she refuse to cooperate. Unbeknownst to her, Vesper left Mr.

White 's phone number to Bond and at the end of the film, 007 shot Mr. White in the leg and arrested him. Quantum of Solace (2008) Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster suggested that Dench's casting gave the character maternal overtones in her relationship with Bond. [4] M ends up spending most of the movie trying to work around the fact that her one trusted agent can get his assigned mission done all while he goes rogue. At the end of the film, she is rather impressed with how he uncovered the whole Quantum conspiracy involving Vesper and Mr. White's associates. Skyfall (2012) Dench's final appearance as M was in the 2012 film Skyfall , in which her character is at the center of the film's plot. The plot revolves around former MI6 agent turned terrorist Raoul Silva trying to get revenge by killing his former boss, who sold him out to the Chinese when she discovered he was engaging in activities outside his authority by hacking the Chinese without authorization.

It is curious to note that during the course of Casino Royale, M at one point makes the comment "...these bastards want your head, and I am seriously considering feeding you to them" to Bond when he goes outside his authority by shooting up an embassy, possibly making a veiled reference to what she had done to the former Tiago Rodriguez many years earlier. M was on the verge of retiring by Gareth Mallory , but she turns it down, thinking he is firing her and left the meeting early and along the way, they were stopped by a roadblock and when M went to complain to the police, an explosion goes off in MI6, killing eight of her people and resorting them to go underground. One night, when she came home, she was about to have a drink, but then she hears a bottle lid popping and she turns to see James Bond, silhouetted in the dark. M soon asked the agent, who was presumed dead three months earlier "Where the hell have you been?" Which Bond replies "Enjoying death." Asking to report for duty, she turned on the light to see the agent, bearded and drinking, she doesn't apologize for the miss shot that hit Bond and has him evaluated (and a shower).

She also told him that his house was sold when he was presumed dead and his stuff is in storage. After saying he will find a hotel, she quips "Well, you're bloody well not sleeping here." After Bond failed all his tests, she lies and tells him that he passed, and when the shrapnel from Bond's wound was identified, leading them to Patrice , she orders him to find and interrogate Patrice. She was soon sent a YouTube clip of five MI6 Agents and had Tanner to get them out. When three agents were killed, Mallory orders M to come to an inquiry. When Bond arrests Silva, she visits him and tells him that she will remove his memorial plaque off the very wall Silva attacked. Leaving Bond and Q to try and decode Silva's laptop, she went to the inquiry. During the inquiry, Tanner tries to tell her to leave as Silva escaped but she refuses and when it gets more complicating, Mallory asks for M to speak and they allow her. After quoting Tennyson, the inquiry was soon under attacked by Silva and when he tries to shoot her, Mallory saves her by taking the bullet to his shoulder.

M was soon carried out of the inquiry by Tanner, only for her car to start driving off and Bond behind the wheel. When they went to a storage container, she thinks that they are hiding in it, but Bond rephrases her that he is only changing cars. After seeing Bond's Aston Martin DB5 , she thinks of it as "inconspicuous". After saying the car wasn't comfortable, Bond threatens to eject her but soon rethinks and keeps driving. Along the way, Bond stopped and they looked at an empty field in Scotland, where Bond grew up. Asking how old Bond was when his parents died, he doesn't answer and she soon replies "Orphans always make the best recruits." continuing along, they stop at Bond's family home and upon looking around, they are confronted by a shotgun wielding old man, who recognizes James and lowers his gun. Bond introduces Kincade to M and they explain why they were in Skyfall Lodge and they answered that some men will come kill them, but they will kill them first. Being shortly armed, Bond gives her his Walther PPK while he has his father's hunting rifle.

M helps set some traps by breaking light bulbs and replacing them with nails and Kincade's shotgun shells. She tried to shoot one of the men but was hit in her hip, dropping the gun in the process and Bond manages to save her and asked if she was hurt but she dismissed it. She was soon told by Bond to run down a priest's hole that Kincade showed her earlier and attempts to flee to the estate's chapel. Silva meanwhile makes his way to the chapel and forces his gun into M's hand where he begs her to kill them both. Bond arrives and kills Silva, but M collapses from her earlier wound and dies, but before she dies she tells Bond that she chose something right and that was hiring Bond for work and trusting him. Her position as head of MI6 is taken by Mallory. She left Bond her infamous Bulldog Ornament . The inscription reads: ‘From the Estate of Olivia Mansfield Bequeathed to James Bond’. This is presumably M's real name. Spectre (2015) In Spectre , her face briefly appears in part of the opening title sequence. She also later appears in a video message that she had recorded for Bond sometime during the events of Skyfall.

During the message she tells Bond that if anything happens to her then she wants him to find and kill Marco Sciarra . Bond completes this final mission for her during the pre-title sequence of the film. Video Game appearances Judi Dench lent her likeness to the The World Is Not Enough video game. She also provided her voice in a few video games. In Everything or Nothing , she briefs Bond before his missions. She had a short role in GoldenEye: Rogue Agent where she narrates at the beginning regarding the player, who was shot in the right eye three years prior by Dr. No. In order to make sure the agent is unfit for duty, she has him put in a simulator. After the agent failed, she fires him for recklessness and the 'death' of 007. She appears in the videogame version of Quantum of Solace , which combines the storylines of the 2006 version of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace . She is seen at the beginning of Blood Stone , trying to get a general to stop a fundraiser as a terrorist is planning on destroying, but the general ignores her and has her to have faith and trust in the general.

Later when Bond stops the bomb, the general thinks they were fireworks and M congratulates 007 and orders a drink for him. As well as Daniel Craig's likeness in all levels of 007 Legends , Judi Dench only voiced her character in this game. A female M also appeared as a voice-only role in Agent Under Fire and Nightfire , portrayed by Caron Pascoe and Samantha Eggar, respectively. Personality A cold, blunt woman, as the head of MI6 M took her role extremely seriously which contradicts with Bond's humorous outlook. She was calm, intelligent, stoic, pragmatic, resourceful and analytical however she also deals with doubt and uncertainty from her agents and even some other government officials. Specifically that whereas other M's were males she was a woman and this led to question of her authority, so much that Bill Tanner described her as "The Evil Queen of Numbers" which earned him a jabbing remark from the latter. M is a woman who only believes only in the facts and logistics rather than actual intuition which won her nickname from Tanner however there are times when she will act on impulse, such as when she refused to give Bond to the CIA despite him being rogue and claims that she trusts him.

This was also shown when she urged Moneypenny to take the shot to kill Patrice despite her not having a clean one and the chance she could kill Bond simply because she didn't want the list in the wrong hands. M is a non-action woman and normally operated behind the scenes while letting agents do the work. She is an excellent strategist, using death traps to defend Skyfall from Silva's men and could easily manipulate and understand other people's motives however she is something of a lousy shot claiming that it's been years since she actually fired a gun. M is incredibly stubborn, to the point where Silva had escaped from MI6 security, and was on the warpath to kill her at her inquiry but refused to leave as to not show the minister her back.She also displays an almost ruthless side to her; during the events of Skyfall M reveals how she respected a brilliant agent Tiago Rodriguez until he went his above pay grade by hacking into the Chinese which prompts her to sell him to the people he hacked, earning three agents in return. She was also prepared to feed Bond to the bastards who want his head after he was photographed killing an African embassy.

If it is needed M will occasionally put the mission above the safety and well-being of her agents which was shown when Patrice had hit the field agent, Ronson and Bond took the time to stabilise him she urged to leave him and pursue the list. However she showed genuine concern for the agents whose disguise were uncovered when Silva posted their names on YouTube. M spent most of her time in the movies interacting with Bond. The two were complete opposites; whereas M was rational and calculated, Bond had a higher degree of recklessness. M was able to deduce that 007 didn't like her and mocks Bond further by describing him as "a sexist, misogynistic dinosaur. A relic of the Cold War" however they cannot deny a mutual respect and trust for one another, M was willing to defy the CIA when they wanted Bond after he went rogue. M also makes very real threats to kill Bond if he ever broke in her house or say her real name. In her final moments she admits that it was a good idea to hire Bond and trust him.

M is quite foul-mouthed at times, describing the people who caught Bond shooting in an African Embassy as "bastards." There was one occasion when her, 007 and Kincade where defending Skyfall and she says to Bond "I really fucked this up didn't I?" M does have a sense of humour, but it is normally quite sarcastic and dry. An example would be when Bond had broken into her apartment yet again and informs her that he would be staying in a hotel for her to reply "well, you're bloody well not staying here." Then also again when 007 drives M to Skyfall where she asks "007 are you kidnapping me?" Despite her dedication to the job M also had a life outside her role as the head of MI6, she claims to Bill Tanner that she had children but these were never seen. She also had a husband but he died before the events of Skyfall. Behind the scenes The character is based on Stella Rimington, the real-life head of MI5 between 1992 and 1996. [5] [6] Dench's character was never referred to by name on-screen.

However, a prop from the final scene of Skyfall, where M bequeaths some of her possessions to Bond following her death, revealed that her character was given the name "Olivia Mansfield". As the character was never directly referred to by this name, its canonicity is unresolved. [7] Trivia With Skyfall, Judi Dench's M became the first character to use a variation of the word "fuck" on-screen in a James Bond movie. ( Timothy Dalton is seen using the word "fucking" in his debut in The Living Daylights , although he is not audible at the time, while Roger Moore used the same word in a deleted scene from A View To A Kill.) She is the first M to be killed in the line of duty. In both continuities, she is the first M to interact with the film's main villain (The World Is Not Enough & Skyfall). Gallery M (Judi Dench) :: Allies :: MI6 :: The Home Of James Bond 007 Movie: GoldenEye - Skyfall Status: Deceased Appearance: Medium build and short stature. Tight, short grey hair and blue eyes. Usually wears modern cream or grey suits.

Date of Birth: 9th December 1934 Height: 5' 1" (1.55m) Place of Birth: York, UK "If you don't think I have the balls to send a man out to die, then your instincts are dead wrong." Pleased To Meet You M became James Bond 's superior in the mid-1990s. She was quick to put Bond in his place and assert her authority, explaining to him that she would utilise the 00-section where required, despite not always condoning their methods. M joined the Intelligence community along with a series of other modernising changes - including relocating the headquarters from Regents Park to Vauxhall Cross on Thames-side. Personality The current M radiates stern efficiency and practicality. She is not afraid of sending agents to die, but on occasion, goes out of her way to help her colleagues and prevent a slaughter. She demonstrates confidence in her agents and slowly warms to the unorthodox efficiency of 007 and his colleagues in the 00-section. She is known to be a caring mother but refuses to let her compassion get in the way of performing her job and keeping Britain safe.

She ably liaises with high-profile government officials and is able to stall the political backlash against MI6 and its processes and agents on many occasions. She will always stand by her decisions and her agents. "It'd be a pretty cold bastard who didn't want revenge for someone he loved." Involvement GoldenEye - Bond is summoned to M's office where he is briefed on the whereabouts of rogue Russian General Ourumov , urging 007 in the strongest terms to refrain from making this mission personally after he witnessed the execution of his ally, Alec Trevelyan , at the hands of Ourumov. M makes it clear to Bond that she regards him as little more than a "relic of the Cold War" and is cautious of sending him after the General. Tomorrow Never Dies - M liaises with the Navy and the stern Admiral Roebuck as Bond provides the authorities with first-hand coverage of a terrorist's arms bizarre in the Khyber Pass. The pushy Navy officer authorises a missile strike, against M's advice, and it is left to Bond pick up the pieces - namely a Russian MIG fighter, armed with a nuclear weapon.

Later, M fights for her department's rights to investigate the politically connected media baron Elliot Carver and the missing HMS Devonshire that others believe was a simple, brutal attack by the Chinese air force. The World Is Not Enough - The MI6 chief sends her agent, 009, to assassinate the terrorist Renard , whilst he held the daughter of M's close friend from Oxford, Sir Robert King. His daughter, Elektra, escaped the clutches of the villain but by a fluke accident, the bullet fired by 009 was lodged in Renard's skull and instead of a swift assassination, Renard won a slow and painless death. After the assassination of Sir Robert, M assigns 007 to protect Elektra. When Bond follows a lead to Kazakhstan , Elektra plays on M's relationship with her late father and M flies to Baku to investigate for herself. Here Bond informs her that things are not what they seem and before Bond can prevent it, M is kidnapped by Elektra and taken to Maiden's Tower in the Bosphorus strait. Bond is eventually captured as well, but with the help of Zukovsky frees M and peruses Renard into the depths.

Above: M gets out of her office at MI6 in "The World Is Not Enough", visiting Elektra King at an oil pipeline facility before being kidnapped. Die Another Day - Six months after 007 is captured and tortured in North Korea, M flies to Hong Kong to speak with her recently recovered agent. She has no regrets for the time he spent in North Korean torture camps and indeed, if she had her way, Bond would still be there. Bond was in fact swapped for terrorist Zao in a political power play that overruled the MI6 chief. After Bond escapes and rustles up some fresh evidence as to the whereabouts of Zao, M concedes that it is useful to have her 00 back. They meet in a disused subway station under central London where it is rumoured agents are sent before they are blacklisted and burned. Instead, Bond is given a new lease on life and sent into the field once more. Later, M authorises an excursion into North Korea in the hopes of stopping the villainous Graves / Moon from violently uniting Korea under the North. "Unlike the America government, we prefer not to get our bad news from CNN." "Any thug can kill.

I need you to take your ego out of the equation." Casino Royale - M supports James Bond even after he is compromised on an early mission, taking flack from politicians who only care what MI6 does when they make mistakes - and when the newspapers notice. On the Casino Royale mission, M is reluctant to assign fledgling 007 to such a critical assignment - the Le Chiffre bankrupting caper - yet recognises his talent as a gambler and potential as a ruthless killer. She meets her semi-rogue 00 Agent in the Bahamas personally, to have an under-skin tracking device attached to James Bond. Her real name is almost revealed by 007 when he breaks in to her London penthouse. Quantum of Solace - Present at the interrogation of Mr. White , a key player in a mysterious terrorist organisation, M is almost assassinated by rogue MI6 agent Craig Mitchell (who is in the pay of Quantum). M tries to reign in her 00 agent, cautioning him against getting revenge for the unfortunate death of his lover, Vesper Lynd .

Eventually, M has to put a warrant for 007's arrest out after he was involved in the death of a British security officer, who was protecting a high-ranking government official. Bond alludes M and the MI6 agents tasked to bring him in until M visits Bolivia herself and discovers the truth about the sticky situation in which Bond has found himself. She allows 007 to get on with his job and finally, in Russia, M and Bond work closely together to interrogate the man who blackmailed Vesper. Quotes Bond: Construction's not exactly my specialty. M: Quite the opposite, in fact. M: You don't like me, Bond. You don't like my methods. You think I'm an accountant, a bean counter more interested in my numbers than your instincts. Bond: The thought had occurred to me. M: Well, I think you're a sexist, misogynist dinosaur. A relic of the Cold War, whose boyish charms, though wasted on me, obviously appealed to that young woman I sent out to evaluate you. Bond: I always thought M was a randomly assigned letter.

I had no idea it stood for - M: [quickly interrupting] Utter one more syllable and I'll have you killed. M: You don't trust anyone, do you? Bond: No. M: Then you've learned your lesson. M: Who the hell do they think they are? I report to the Prime Minister and even he's smart enough not to ask me what we do. Have you ever seen such a bunch of self-righteous, ass-covering prigs? They don't care what we do; they care what we get photographed doing.. M: After Elektra King was kidnapped, her father tried to deal with it on his own, with no success. So he came to me. As you are aware, we do not negotiate with terrorists. And against every instinct in my heart, every... emotion as a mother, I told him not to pay the ransom. M: We will not be terrorised by cowards who would murder, and use us as the tool. We'll find these people. We'll follow them to the farthest ends of the earth if needs be and we will bring them to justice.

Biography Born in York in 1934, the daughter of a doctor, Judith Olivia Dench attended The Mount School - a Quaker boarding school - and a Quaker public secondary school. After high-school Dench studied to work behind-the-scenes in theatre, designing sets, before finding a passion for on-stage performance. She first played on stage in the 1950s before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company for a 1961 production of "The Cherry Orchard". As a graduate of the Central School for Speech and Drama, today Dench is a five-time BAFTA winner and worldwide star. A veteran of the Bond franchise as well as the theatre and screen - "Quantum of Solace" marked the Judi Dench's sixth appearance in a Bond picture, after her 007-debut in 1995's "GoldenEye". She will go on to reprise her role in Bond 23, due out in 2011. As well as the BAFTAs, Dench has also been rewarded with an Academy Award for her role in "Shakespeare in Love", in which she portrayed Queen Elizabeth I.

Widely regarded as one of the finest actors of stage and screen in anyone's lifetime, Dench was honoured with an OBE and the title of Dame Judi Dench in 1988. Dame Judi has appeared in a string of successful British dramas and comedies, including, "Mrs. Brown", "Chocolat", "Iris", "The Shipping News", "Therese Raquin" and "The Importance of Being Earnest". More recently she has earned Oscar nods for "Mrs Henderson Presents" (2005) and "Notes on a Scandal" (2006). She has continued her on-stage career despite immense success in film and television throughout the 21st century. Dench appeared in "Madame de Sade" in 2009 and she will return to "A Midsummer's Nights Dream" in 2010. In the 1980s and early '90s, Dench directed several prominent stage productions, including "Romeo and Juliet" at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in 1993.

Dame Judi was married to the actor Michel Williams (whom she acted opposite on numerous occasions) for 30 years until his death in 2001. Judi Dench Is the Bond Series' Most Divine Miss M | Movie News | Movies.com "If only those who dream about Hollywood knew how difficult it all is." Movies.com > Movie News > Judi Dench Is the Bond Series' Most Divine Miss M Judi Dench Is the Bond Series' Most Divine Miss M Judi Dench Is the Bond Series' Most Divine Miss M Tweet "The Weekend Rent" offers quick-hit suggestions of what to watch at home to get psyched for new releases in theaters, on Fridays. Click on any of the film titles below to find out how you can watch the movie right now. In case you haven't heard, Skyfall —the 23rd officially recognized Bond film—is the one Bond to rule them all. Daniel Craig returns as 007 and Javier Bardem is creepy fantastic as Raoul Silva, a former MI6 agent who seeks revenge against the people he feels have betrayed him.

One of those people is the head of MI6 and Bond's commanding officer, M, played for one last time by the inimitable Judi Dench . Since M is front and center in Skyfall and takes off with Bond to the titular location to confront Silva and his goons in the film's explosive third act, now is the perfect time to celebrate one of the most memorable M's of the entire 007 series. Those with short memories or that only hopped onboard the Bond train when Craig assumed the role may not realize that Dench also played M in the Pierce Brosnan Bond universe. Her character is based on Stella Rimington, the real-life head of MI5 between 1992 and 1996. In GoldenEye —Dench's first appearance as M as well as Brosnan's first turn as Bond—M openly dislikes 007, calling him a "sexist, misogynist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War." In 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies , M sends Bond to investigate the psychopathic media mogul Elliot Carver, memorably played by Jonathan Pryce. Two years after Tomorrow Never Dies, M gets into the action a little more in The World Is Not Enough .

This time, M assigns Bond to protect oil heiress Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) only for M to later be abducted by Elektra and held in Istanbul. Bond eventually frees M, and Dench returns a final time to play her opposite Brosnan in 2002's Die Another Day. In this movie, Bond is tortured after 14 months in captivity before M does a prisoner exchange to get him back. M then suspends Bond of his 00 status because she believes he might have leaked information under duress. M later restores Bond's double-0 status and offers her assistance when he is invited to Iceland for a scientific demonstration. The Bond series got a reboot with 2006's Casino Royale with Daniel Craig as 007, so even though Dench returns as the head of MI6 she is not the same M of the Brosnan Bond universe. Casino Royale is set at the beginning of Bond's career when he just earned his license to kill. Dench was the only actor to return from the Brosnan Bond films, but her relationship with Craig's 007 is a little different than the disdain she often expressed toward Brosnan's Bond.

In Casino Royale, M is a somewhat maternal figure in Bond's life who feels like she might have promoted her agent too soon and scolds him for his rash actions. In the follow-up, Quantum of Solace, director Marc Forster felt that Dench had been underused as M in previous movies and wanted her to interact more with Bond because she is "the only woman Bond doesn't see in a sexual context." In Quantum, Bond disobeys M repeatedly and she strips him of his passports and credit cards before he earns her trust again and she reinstates Bond as agent by the film's end. All of the movies listed above are available on DVD, Blu-ray and/or various VOD services. Skyfall is now playing in theaters everywhere. 'Skyfall' actress Judi Dench reflects on her reign as mom to James Bond | NOLA.com comments 'Skyfall' actress Judi Dench reflects on her reign as mom to James Bond Judi Dench returns as M, James Bond's handler in the British intelligence service, in the action film 'Skyfall,' directed by Sam Mendes. (Photo by Francois Duhamel / Columbia Pictures) comments NEW YORK -- Nothing is so much of a boys' club as a James Bond movie.

That is, except when Judi Dench is on screen. As MI6 head M, Dench has been the Bond matriarch: the strong-willed, no-nonsense mainstay of feminine authority in a movie franchise that has, more often than not, featured slightly more superficial womanly traits. " Skyfall " is Dench's seventh Bond film, an unimpeachable reign that has encompassed both the Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan eras of the British spy. For a number of reasons, "Skyfall" is her most notable Bond film. For the first time, Dench isn't just dictating orders from headquarters, but is thrown directly into the action when a former MI6 agent (Javier Bardem) is bent on revenge against her. "It's very nice to be out from behind the desk," Dench said in a recent interview by phone from London. "It's extremely nice to get a go in the field, as it were, and get a bit of the action. It made me feel very grown-up.

It's not just the fellas who are spinning about and shooting guns -- I get a go." As soon as Dench entered the world of Bond, she made it clear she was a force to be reckoned with -- certainly not one that some gun-toting playboy would push around. Introducing herself to Bond in 1995's "Goldeneye," the bourbon-drinking M promptly informs Brosnan's Bond that she isn't a "bean-counter," as Bond admits to thinking. 'Skyfall' is 'The One' this week Nola.com | The Times-Picayune movie critic Mike Scott says it's a no-brainer this week. The new James Bond film 'Skyfall' is 'The One' movie you should check out. "Good, because I think you're a sexist, misogynist dinosaur," retorts M. "A relic of the Cold War, whose boyish charms, though wasted on me, obviously appealed to the young lady I sent out to evaluate you." She then states she has "the balls" to send Bond to his death, if need be. Gulp. "A man saying that to Bond is one thing, but a woman saying that to him was quite another," says Dench.

Partly because of that scene, Dench considered the role a "cracking" one. She says she didn't then realize the import many would assign to a woman playing M, or the length that her service would turn out to be. Her husband, the late Michael Williams, cheered the decision: "He thought living with a Bond woman was very exciting." So over seven films and 17 years, the 77-year-old Dench -- a revered Shakespearian actress of the British stage and films such as "Notes on a Scandal" and "Shakespeare in Love" -- has, like other legendary stage actors from Alec Guinness ("Star Wars") to Ian McKellen ("Lord of the Rings"), become best known to many for a blockbuster movie franchise. Dench inherited the role of M from Robert Brown, who played the character from 1983's "Octopussy" through 1989's "License to Kill." Bernard Lee -- whom Dench calls a hero of hers -- initiated Ian Fleming's secret service head, playing him for 11 films, from 1962's "Dr.

No" to 1979's "Moonraker." (John Huston and Edward Fox also sat in for M for a film each.) "Skyfall" director Sam Mendes previously worked with Dench when he was a hotshot 24-year-old director mounting "The Cherry Orchard" in the West End. "She was the first bona fide great actor I had ever worked with," says Mendes. "I learned more from watching her, the way she worked, than I ever had before. She would never think of herself as a teacher. She has too much humility and too much grace to consider herself to be knowledgeable. But in fact, it wasn't about what she said, it was about how she conducted herself, how she rehearsed, how she thought about the play, her dedication to the play and the audience, her work ethic." Dench recalls Mendes as "very knowledgeable at the time." "I remember saying to him, 'Could I possibly try something one way?'" And he said, 'You can but it won't work,'" says Dench.

"When my opportunity came in this film, he suggested something to me and I said, 'Well I can do that but it won't work.'" There is, though, another reason why "Skyfall" is a significant Bond film for Dench, though it's one that needs to be forewarned by frantically waving one's arms and screaming "spoiler alert!" -- so proceed reading with caution. "Skyfall" is Dench's final Bond film. In it, she bequeaths the role to Ralph Fiennes. It has been a hard secret to keep, Dench says, especially to her 15-year-old grandson. Talking too much about it, she warns, and "we'll all be shot at dawn." "It's 17 years of working with one of the most extraordinary actresses ever," says Bond producer Barbara Broccoli. "She's brought so much dimension to this character. It's very difficult to end that chapter. But it ends with enormous dignity and I think it's one of her finest performances. It's very bittersweet. She will be well-remembered for playing this role." That this is the end of her run with Bond comes as no relief to Dench. "Certainly not," she says.

"No, certainly not. I could go on for years. Maybe I'll come back as a ghost. Now that would be Shakespearian." Note: AP entertainment writer Jake Coyle wrote this story. Most Read Now Playing Get the latest news, reviews, trailers and up-to-date listings for movies playing in local theaters. Delivered Friday afternoons. Leave this field blank Judi Dench - IMDb IMDb Actress | Music Department | Soundtrack Judi Dench was born in York, England, to Eleanora Olive (Jones), who was from Dublin, Ireland, and Reginald Arthur Dench, a doctor from Dorset, England. She attended Mount School in York, and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She has performed with Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and at Old Vic Theatre. She is a ...

See full bio » Born: a list of 35 people created 02 Jul 2011 a list of 35 people created 19 Apr 2012 a list of 35 people created 28 May 2014 a list of 25 people created 05 Aug 2014 a list of 26 people created 18 May 2015 Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDbPage How much of Judi Dench's work have you seen? User Polls Won 1 Oscar. Another 59 wins & 163 nominations. See more awards » Known For 2016 The Hollow Crown (TV Series) Cecily, Duchess of York 2015 The Vote (TV Movie) Christine Metcalfe - Total War (1996) ... Narrator (voice) - Stalemate (1996) ...

Narrator (voice) 1992 The Torch (TV Mini-Series) Aba 1990 Screen One (TV Series) Anne 1989 Behaving Badly (TV Mini-Series) Bridget 1981 BBC2 Playhouse (TV Series) Sister Scarli 1976 Arena (TV Series documentary) Sweetie Simpkins 1973 Ooh La La! (TV Series) Amélie 1966 Court Martial (TV Series) Marthe 1963 Z Cars (TV Series) Elena Collins 1963 Love Story (TV Series) Pat McKendrick 1960 The Terrible Choice (TV Series) Good Angel Music department (1 credit) A Fine Romance (TV Series) (theme sung by - 14 episodes, 1981 - 1983) (theme song sung by - 12 episodes, 1983 - 1984) - A Romantic Meal (1984) ... (theme song sung by) - Problems (1984) ...

(theme song sung by) 2013 Fifty Years on Stage (TV Movie) (performer: "Send in the Clowns") 2009 Nine (performer: "Folies Bergère") - What's Wrong with Mrs Bale? (1997) ... (performer: "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" - uncredited) - Misunderstandings (1993) ... (performer: "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" - uncredited) 1982-1984 A Fine Romance (TV Series) (performer - 2 episodes) - The Telephone Call (1984) ... (performer: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" - uncredited) - Furniture (1982) ...

(performer: "Rule, Britannia!" - uncredited) Hide 2009 Waiting in Rhyme (Video short) (special thanks) 2007 Expresso (Short) (special thanks) 1999 Shakespeare in Love and on Film (TV Movie documentary) (thanks - as Dame Judi Dench) Hide 2016 Rio Olympics (TV Mini-Series) Herself 2015 In Conversation (TV Series documentary) Herself 2015 Entertainment Tonight (TV Series) Herself 2015 CBS This Morning (TV Series) Herself - Guest 2015 The Insider (TV Series) Herself 1999-2014 Cinema 3 (TV Series) Herself 2013 Good Day L.A.

(TV Series) Herself - Guest 2013 Arena (TV Series documentary) Herself 2013 At the Movies (TV Series) Herself 2013 Shooting Bond (Video documentary) Herself 2013 Bond's Greatest Moments (TV Movie documentary) Herself 2012 Made in Hollywood (TV Series) Herself 1999-2012 Charlie Rose (TV Series) Herself - Guest 2008-2012 This Morning (TV Series) Herself - Guest 2012 The Secrets of Skyfall (TV Short documentary) Herself 2012 Anderson Live (TV Series) Herself 2012 J. Edgar: A Complicated Man (Video documentary short) Herself 2011 The Many Faces of... (TV Series documentary) Herself / Various Characters 2011 Na plovárne (TV Series) Herself 2010 BBC Proms (TV Series) Herself 2010 The South Bank Show Revisited (TV Series documentary) Herself - Episode #6.68 (2009) ...

Herself - Guest (as Dame Judi Dench) 2007-2009 Breakfast (TV Series) 2009 Larry King Live (TV Series) Herself - Guest 2009 The One Show (TV Series) Herself 2009 Cranford in Detail (Video documentary short) Herself / Miss Matty Jenkins (as Dame Judi Dench) 2005-2008 The South Bank Show (TV Series documentary) Herself 2008 Tavis Smiley (TV Series) Herself - Guest 2007 ITV News (TV Series) Herself - BAFTA Nominee 2007 The Making of Cranford (Video documentary short) Herself / Miss Matty Jenkyns (as Dame Judi Dench) 2006 Becoming Bond (TV Movie documentary) Herself 2006 Corazón de...

(TV Series) Herself 2006 Directing Bond: The Martin Chronicles (Video documentary short) Herself / M (Barbara Mawdsley) 2006 Mrs Henderson Presents: Making Of (Video documentary short) Herself 2005 Film 2016 (TV Series) Herself 2005 HBO First Look (TV Series documentary) Herself 2003 Inside 'Die Another Day' (Video documentary short) Herself 2002 Richard Rodgers: Some Enchanted Evening (TV Special documentary) Herself - Performer 2002 James Bond: A BAFTA Tribute (TV Movie documentary) Herself 2002 Billy Connolly: A BAFTA Tribute (TV Movie documentary) Herself 2002 Happy Anniversary Mr.

Bond (TV Movie documentary) Herself / M 2002 Best Ever Bond (TV Movie documentary) Herself 2002 Premiere Bond: Die Another Day (TV Movie documentary) Herself 2002 Bond Girls Are Forever (TV Movie documentary) Herself 2002 60 Minutes (TV Series documentary) Herself - Actress (segment "Dame Judi") 2002 Judi Dench: A BAFTA Tribute (TV Movie documentary) Herself 2001 The BAFTA TV Awards 2001 (TV Special documentary) Herself 2001 A Look at Iris (Video documentary short) Herself 1999 The Bond Cocktail (TV Movie documentary) Herself 1997 James Bond: Shaken and Stirred (TV Movie documentary) Herself 1996 Very Important Pennis (TV Series) Herself 1995 GoldenEye: The Secret Files (TV Short documentary) Herself 1995 Westminster Abbey (TV Movie documentary) Herself 1989 The London Programme (TV Series documentary) Herself 1988 Caught in the Act (TV Movie documentary) Hers

elf 1988 An Audience with Victoria Wood (TV Special documentary) Herself - Audience Member (uncredited) 1988 Aspel & Company (TV Series) Herself - Guest 1988 Good Morning Britain (TV Series) Herself - Guest 1983 Children in Need (TV Series) Herself 1982 Playing Shakespeare (TV Mini-Series documentary) Herself 1982 The Bafta Awards (TV Special) Herself - Winner: Best Actress in a TV Series 1976 My Homeland (TV Movie documentary) Reader 1974 2nd House (TV Series) Herself, in scenes from 'Antony and Cleopatra' - Frank's for the Memory (1974) ...

Herself, in scenes from 'Antony and Cleopatra' 1969 Omnibus (TV Series documentary) Herself - Reading poetry 1969 An Evening with... (TV Series) Herself - Guest Reader 1968 Call My Bluff (TV Series) Herself 2015 Inside Spectre with Richard Wilkins (TV Movie documentary) Herself 2013 Six by Sondheim (TV Movie documentary) Herself 2013 American Dad! (TV Series) Herself 2012 Top Gear (TV Series) M 2008 Bond on Location (TV Short documentary) Herself 2007 The Story of Jackanory (TV Movie documentary) Herself - 'Jackanory' Storyteller 2007 Canada A.M.

(TV Series) Herself 2007 Film 2016 (TV Series) Herself 2007 In Character with Cate Blanchett (Video documentary short) Barbara Covett (uncredited) 2006 Premiere Bond: Opening Nights (Video documentary short) Herself 2002 After They Were Famous (TV Series documentary) Cat Burglar 2002 The Unforgettable Joan Sims (TV Special documentary) Elizabeth (uncredited) 1999 And the Word Was Bond (TV Movie documentary) Herself 1999 Heroes of Comedy (TV Series documentary) - Norman Wisdom (1999) ... (as Dame Judi Dench) 1998 Best of British (TV Series) Herself - Audience Member 1986 Breakfast Time (TV Series) Eleanor Lavish, a novelist Personal Details Other Works: She acted in Hugh Whitemore's play, "Pack of Lies," at the Lyric Theatre in London, England with Michael Williams, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Richard Vernon, and Larry Hoodekoff in the cast. Clifford Williams was director.

See more » Publicity Listings: 5 Print Biographies | 11 Interviews | 14 Articles | 3 Pictorials | 16 Magazine Cover Photos | See more » Alternate Names: Did You Know? Personal Quote: Once, a long time ago, I read some bad reviews and I made the decision not to read the reviews. You get some critics who don't like you, or the play. But they don't have to do it every night. I don't want to be affected like that. I loved doing "Madame de Sade. A friend told me not to apologise for myself or the play, and I won't. Then I cast it all off and go and put my feet up under the chimney... See more » Trivia: When she started training at the Central School of Speech and Drama, she admits she wasn't taking it as seriously as she ought to have done. She was caught out during an improvisation scene at which point she realised that that was what it was all about and studied harder than she had ever done in her life. See more » Trademark: Known for often playing dignified, strong willed women in positions of authority who are sometimes opposed or criticised by those under her.

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Question: In which Bond film did Judi Dench first play the role of M?
Answer: GOLDENEYE